One reason why Ferraris change hands so often

See, I don't agree with that statement at all. What in this world's hell is so complicated about a 328? My god, it has a fuel injection system from a flipping VW Rabbit (not even a Golf - a RABBIT). What's under the hood of ANY 3X8 is no more bull**** than that 1981 Rabbit. The only real difference is 4 more cylinders. Simple simple simple.

Go raise the hood on a new Toyota and point to something you can fix easily in your driveway without access to a laptop and I'll show you bull****.

 

By the way, I am the 6th owner of my 308. I will have owned it 10 years next month and I am by far the longest owner it has had. I bought it with 57,000 miles and it now has 99,750. I am keeping it.

 

Tim, welcome to FerrariChat... And congratulations on your Ferrari - post some pictures, please. Though it's not unusual for a Ferrari to have a handful of owners, 12 in 21 years seems a bit over the top. I'm curious as to what details might surround your car. Could you post the serial number...? I'd like to check and see if I have any information on the car.

 

OK, so what you,re saying is : Instead these people need a comfortable, good performing, reliable, with few repair bills.......a typical SUV. Is that what they really wanted after all, and never realized it until they bought a Ferrari?

 

Yep -- and it can work out for the next buyer.

I'm the 4th owner on my 328. By the service records, the first owner kept it about six months. The second kept it about 9 years.

The third had it two years, and had it in the shop most of both summers. The shop also sold him on a "gearbox rebuild" -- apparently, he never did come to terms with the shifter, and figured there was something wrong. So I got it fairly cheap.

I've had it coming up on eight years now, and I still love driving it.

Alas, looking at traffic around here, it's painfully clear that the majority of the public have no interest at all in actually *driving* a vehicle. They're just along for the ride. A vehicle that insists on driver participation just isn't for them.
(What's really annoying is that they seem to demand that everyone else live down to their level -- traffic should sit in formation, so that someone actually having a clue won't make the other sheep feel bad about not having one.)

 

No. What I'm saying is many people who get into Ferrari ownership expect a "god" like experiance behined the wheel. This is not the case. They eventualy find out that their daily driver is a far better performing machine overall and begin to question the value of the Ferrari in the long haul. This is the direct reason why there are so many sh it can Ferrari's on the market right now. People have bought them found out how much they really cost to service, then have dumped them with no more then a couple of oil changes done to the car during their ownership. Once the costs are weighed and the performance is nothing speacial say over your SUV the the real question remains to MOST people is "why"?

 

The expectation that somehow a 1972 Ferrari is always going to be faster and better-handling than the 2008 or 2012 or 2018 model year cars is ridiculous. It's a measure of the power of the name/badge. Once you accept that time makes yesterday's performance cars obsolete when it comes to 0-60, or 60-0, you're left to appreciate what it was that made everyone love them in the first place. I had already driven the 328 before I bought mine, so had already seen the Ferrari 'halo' dispelled and experienced the machine firsthand, on a challenging road, in parking lots as well as on the Interstate.

Maybe the ultimate test is the Dino 246. If someone 'gets' the charms and allure of that slow-ish and expensive machine, they will probably be inclined to own a Ferrari long term. There's a model that has character in buckets, and performance from the Nixon Administration years. Yet prices are advancing, so it seems more about owner expectations than about the cars.

Also, and maybe it's more a sign of my warped perspective, I don't begrudge the Ferrari a $400 part (that should cost $50) when the need arises. Yet if I have to spend over $100 on my Jeep I somehow resent it. The pleasure-to-expense ratio of the 328 somehow still registers in the black for me. I can see how that might be different if I had a Boxer in the garage with a blown differential, or if I had financial difficulties.

 

Now that Boxer scenario WOULD be a financial difficulty.

Also probably a marital/family crises.

I think that like a private airplane, part of the pleasure-to-expense goes up in a kind of weird S&M proportion to the ridiculous expenses.

Pain and Pleasure may indeed (in that sense) be parts of the same sensation, so to speak.

 

This is true of MOST people. They buy Ferraris for the wrong reasons (posers, label flashers). But not of us here on Fchat!

I approached ownership from a completely different angle. I owned a four door Jap lux sedan that can match or OUTPERFORM most F cars on the road (if not by sheer power or grip, then the willingness to take more risky moves since it's not an F car). But it was BORING. The car had no soul. Everything was so effortless that it put me to sleep. Also, other owners didn't know how to change a tire, and most of the forums were about lease rates, designer jeans and tinting the tail lights. I knew that I'd be taking a step down in performance the day I bought my Ferrari, but it was worth it.

 

S&M is probably the root of Ferrari ownership. Beautiful to look at and drive, beats you up at service time, etc.

 

Thank you, mistress. May I please have another?

 

We're not lake dwellers... not enough fight to keep us feeling alive there. We seek out the fastest running stream and head upstream. We do this ostensibly (but at least partially) for the adventure, but it's the struggle we're really after. If something is too easy, we move on to more challenge; our cars are no exception. Significant others can fall into this camp as well. Imagine for a moment what you think of when you hear "High Maintenance". Which of the conjured images are the positives, and which are the negatives? It's not as clear as first blush might suggest.

 

I agree completely. My appreciation for my 308 comes from blind love only. I always wanted one so I am thrilled to own one. On the other hand, if all I knew about Ferraris was Magnum PI reruns I would be VERY disappointed with one of these things. From a purely objective standpoint there is nothing outstanding about a 308 Ferrari when compared to a modern automobile. The price of entry is not too steep, about the same as fully loaded Honda Accord in many cases and what do you get for your money that the Honda can't do twice as well? Everything about a 2007 Accord is better, faster, more dependable, and more affordable than an 82 308 GTSi. Even the 4 door model.

If you don't REALLY love a 308, if you have always driven Corvettes and 911's, owning a 308 can actually piss you off. I drove a Porsche 996 for a few days a couple of years ago. The owners are close friends and they even wanted to swap cars for a week just to have a Ferrari "experience". We never did and I am really glad it never happened. Their car was fast and as easy to drive cold as when it was warmed up. The a/c would blow snow and the brakes were unbelievable. It was a really fine automobile all around. I wouldn't think twice about jumping in it and driving to the corner for a paper. I would never do that in my 308. It shifts like a garbage truck when it's cold compared to that Porsche and forget the a/c...

I love my 308 and I am not bothered in the least that I can't go stoplight to stoplight with a soccer mom in a loaded minivan. I wanted one forever. I like the looks, the smell of that leather and the sound of the engine. That's what's important to me but I can see easily how that's not enough for someone else.

 

AH , I love my mistress, dressed in black leather and bright metal. The pleasure of her scream is intense...

 

Finally!! A truly objective view of Ferrari ownership!

 

I've had the Dino for over 3yrs now, I never want to sell her. Though I would love to add another Fcar to the stable someday! I plan on allways owning one!

Cheers!

 

I think we all can agree that by any objective analysis, Ferraris are lousy cars and lousy values. But enough people seem to want them anyway.

Dave

 

Yes: All those 550 owners should dump those lousy cars at deeply discounted prices ....







.... so I can buy one.


I have both an "old" 328 and an EVO. "Everyone says" the EVO is faster. I'm not seeing it.
0 to 60 in a straight line -- probably. 60 to 0 braking -- certainly.
Quicker through a set of corners .... The old italian still takes it.
And zero to 40 -- the EVO's turbo lag makes it a wash.

 

Interesting thread. I don't know that there is one correct answer, but:

I doubt many first time buyers look for a 246- certainly today, given their pricing. I think you almost have to go through some of the bigger, faster cars to appreciate what is so special about that Dino.

The 3x8 has, for a long time, been the entry car, but now it is gettting to be more of a 'collector' or specialist type car, due to age, performance and the relatively low cost of 348's and 355s. (Indeed, even older 360s are far more affordable now).

As an entry level car, you are going to get owners who go in both directions: great, had my Ferrari experience, now I'll buy a ___ whatever (not a Ferrari); or, gotta get me some real power, one a them there 12 cyl. Testaroonie mothas, etc.

I went through 6 Ferraris in as many years, partly in the quest for power, driveability, funkiness and
the fun of change. All of the cars were great- the best was probably the oldest and least sophisticated, the 512 BBi. Part of my impetus was simply to have the experience of a number of different cars, and not holding a 200 million dollar fund, I did what Ed Niles calls "serial collecting," although he had some truly special cars back in the day.
Don't currently have a Ferrari, but have had some other special cars since then. Welcome to the board. It doesn't suck, it can be informative, amusing and downright addictive. (The board, as well as the cars). Good luck with it.

 

This remind me of that old joke where this guy and a hooker walk into the bedroom. He starts to take his pants off and the hooker looks down and says "who are you going to please with THAT" . At that point the guy smiles and says "MYSELF". So this is why I own my 308. Enjoy the ride

 

"Serial collecting." I like that. Having gone through 13 sports cars in as many years, a car buddy of mine coined the term "automobulimia" to describe my lunacy.

 

I see the same thing in the vintage guitar market. It has to be because of the retained value. You buy the car right. There is not much of a downside.

 

i guess i've wanted a ferrari forever. at least the last 40yrs. of my life... that's awhile...
back when the 365gtc/4 was the fastest roadcar on earth, my first serious highschool
girlfriend gave me a ferrari keychain for christmas. it was common knowledge that i was
a different sort, what with scouring the papers or road & track to see who won the latest
grand prix and was it ferrari? none of the nascar or nhra crap for me.
and then gabriella came into my life aug.1,2007. all the memories, all the races i've been to,
even attending bmw driver's schools on the nordschleife, none of these can compare with
having her live in my home, being there, beckoning for a late-nite run. these are the reasons
i love her so. yes, she is nearly as beautiful as my wife of 28yrs.,i hope she will be as easy to
live with as my wife.
there ain't nothin' like a 328gts.(or my wife). age has a whole lot to do with one's view of life.
certainly makes it more mellow.a ferrari at full chat is like a serious drug. once it's in the system,
it's very hard to do without.
after all, gabriella is one of enzo's progeny!